Palestinian Journalists Caught in Political Power Struggle

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RAMALLAH, West Bank – On June 22, Palestinian government forces shut down the offices of As-Subeh (The Morning) and detained the newspaper’s chief editor, Sari Al-Qudweh.

The closure and arrest are the latest in a troubling trend in the Palestinian Territories, as journalists are entangled in the power struggle between the competing Hamas and Fatah parties.  In May 2009, Oussid Amarena of the Al-Aqsa television network was arrested, as was Mustapha Sabri, bureau chief for the pro-Hamas newspaper Filasteen.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a report in May 2009 that since Hamas gained power in Gaza in 2007, media organizations in the Palestinian Territories have increasingly split along party lines, and have suffered threats on both sides.  While journalists in pro-Hamas organizations are detained in the West Bank, those working for pro-Fatah outlets are threatened by Gaza police.  Many journalists have been repeatedly arrested, while others have had passports revoked.  Those arrested are rarely charged with any crimes.  Reporters Without Borders has condemned the targeting of reporters by the opposing parties.

“Journalists are again paying the price of the political tension between the different Palestinian factions,” the press freedom advocacy group said in a recent statement.  “The Palestinian Authority does not allow any view but its own to be voiced in the West Bank and does not hesitate to harass pro-Hamas journalists.  The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip is no better.”

The Palestinian journalists’ union has also openly criticized the recent arrests and has called for the release of the detained journalists, saying in a statement that journalists should not be the target of political conflicts.  Both Hamas and Fatah have bans on publications they perceive as partisan.  The UNHCR reports that coercive measures by both parties have forced Palestinian journalists into self-censorship and have stifled freedom of information in the Palestinian Territories.

For more information, please see:

Ma’an News Agency – De Facto Government Shuts Down Gaza Newspaper, Detains Chief Editor – 24 June 2009

Reporters Without Borders – More Journalists Arrested as a Resule of Tensions Between Palestinian Factions   – 29 May 2009

UNHCR – World Report 2009—Palestinian Territories – 1 May 2009    

Committee to Protect Journalists – Two Journalists Released in West Bank, One Still in Prison – 3 March 2009

CNW Telbec – Palestinian Territories: Arbitrary Detention of Journalists Continues as a Result of Tension Between Hamas and Fatah – 29 August 2008

Author: Impunity Watch Archive